


morte subito

by dvinare



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Inspired by Richard Siken, M/M, Mentions of Death, Morally Ambiguous Character, Pirates, Pre-Relationship, Sirens, Supernatural Elements, Temporary Character Death, hyuck is going through some internal stuff, obligatory jaemin's teeth cameo, somewhat unreliable narative
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-27
Updated: 2020-02-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:55:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22928335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dvinare/pseuds/dvinare
Summary: Meeting Na Jaemin for the first time is like experiencing sudden death.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Na Jaemin
Comments: 6
Kudos: 34





	morte subito

**Author's Note:**

> i couldn't get the thought of jaemin as a beautiful siren who's trying to eat donghyuck's heart out of my mind so i speed wrote this yesterday.  
> nahyuck in general has been living rent free in my mind for some weeks now, i have a bigger project planned for them which i'll eventually write when i have time but for now have some self indulgent supernatural-esque boys.
> 
> to clear up some parts because it's kind of ambiguous:  
> 1) donghyuck is a pirate and the captain of a crew he formed out of outcasts  
> 2) when describing hyuck's crew/family i meant the other dreamies i just chose not to name them. the one dressing his wounds is renjun, the twins are chenji(yes they're actual twins in this au) and the star-crossed lovers are meant to be mark and jeno  
> 3) jaemin's original intention was to literally eat donghyuck and drag him to the bottom of the sea BUT i don't do hurt no comfort so i ended up making him realize that he (in fact) has feelings and can expreince empathy * shocked and surprised i know*  
> 4)the temporary character death tag is there because donghyuck technically passes away but is revived thanks to one na jaemin  
> 5)i might write more about this universe in the future but no promises
> 
> shoutout to nahyuck nation and to my partner whom im trying to convert into nahyuckism, love you kasia<333

_"he is trying to kill you, and you deserve it, you do, and you know this, and you are ready to die in this swimming pool"_

\- Richard Siken, from A Primer for the Small Weird Loves

  
  
  


Meeting Na Jaemin for the first time is like experiencing sudden death.

Every time after is about wondering vainly how you managed to avoid this near death experience.

  
  
  


There was no name to attach to the being lurking at his feet back then. Night sky void of clouds, moon round and abnormally big, illuminating everything within immediate reach, chasing away dark, looming shadows, grazing the very surface of the calm but turbid water. Donghyuck is sitting at the dock, face flushed equal parts from downing too much cheap liquor and from the swift wind hitting his exposed skin. 

Something cold and wet touches the sole of his foot and he should flinch, every touch coming from a source unknown is danger in the making, it's already made, it's bound to catch up to him, punish him for his petty crimes. Instead of listening to the rational part of his brain he stays unmoving, hardwood digging in the palms of his hands, eyes wide awake, awaiting a glimpse of his potential death. 

Water parts as though on command, a pale face peeking from the sea which seems to have grown restless all of a sudden. The skin is tinged an unnatural green colour and that should be a dead giveaway, but if there's something Donghyuck is good at it is ignoring the the grim reaper's constant callings.

  
  


_" I'm sorry beloved, it seems there are still things I need to take care of. Could we schedule the inevitable for a later date?"_

  
  


Instead of fleeing the dock immediately on legs tired and trembling he stares.

And death looks a lot like this- a pair of bulging eyes, white irises filled with well disguised bloodlust, mixed with unbashful, almost childlike curiosity. Long black hair is spreading evenly across the surface of the water, lashes thick and fluttering like a butterfly’s wings, and then there are the teeth. Huge, sharp, white things uncovered in easy confidence. Donghyuck could probably see his reflection in them if he moved close enough. He cannot do such thing however. Distance is his only trump card, if he loses the one and by extension strongest hand he has it would mean game over. And despite the circumstances and his warranted defeat, secured tightly in a see through satchel, Donghyuck is not a quitter. He's been running for far too long- running from his parents, running from his past, running from the government. This is the only place in the world where he could run for the sake of running, of feeling the gentle breeze wash against his face, the salty smell hitting his nostrils. Instead of for being chased that is. Donghyuck wants to live a life where he's able to see things till their very end, even if it kills him, _especially if it does_ , because is death really that scary in the grand scheme of things? Has he not encountered it multiple times before, gone head to head and sneering at her very face?

This is different.

This is the end guaranteed, grand finale created specifically with him in mind. Because what better way to disappear than at the hands of a man. And this man, he is beautiful. This creature hiding between the black-blue waves is haunting in its allure, because death was never meant to look like that. Donghyuck was always sure to meet an ugly, disgusting end. In a backstreet, broken glass bottle shoved deep in his guts, or in the sea, thrown overboard by his own crew, maybe even on the floor of his parents house, eyes looking up to see his father laugh hysterically at the crawling body of an only son. Never like this though. At the mercy of a man-eater. It's not cruel enough, too merciful in the face of his crimes. This would be a death too beautiful, one he's prepared for in advance.

The siren's eyes shift, eyebrows dipping slightly to turn the sharp features into something almost sinister, parts teasing, parts challenging. Lee Donghyuck never goes back on a challenge. Especially not on one proposed by a man-mirror. The creature in the water has a certain look in his eyes which commands Donghyuck, makes him want to remember what they remind him of.

It's of himself. Those are the eyes he gives to human scum before he shoves his cutlass down their throat, it's the ones reflected on a dirty window down an alley abandoned, before he delivers the last blow to a paid in advance target, the ones he catches sometimes in the corner of his cabins mirror when he looks at himself and wonders how he changed to the point where recognizing his reflection is unthinkable.

Eyes worn with pride, eyes of a murderer, pretend innocence, well tucked away hatred for the world, for everything clean and simple. 

The universe works in funny ways, Donghyuck realizes. It creates the most absurd and hilarious of situations. Like right now. He's being meet with a doppelganger, someone capable of showing him the same terror he plants and harvests in others. And it's fair, of course it is. Donghyuck suffered, so he made other people suffer, now it's time to have the favour returned back to him.

  
  


Up close the creature looks less demonic and more like a disproportionate human. Donghyuck hadn't even realized when it had made its way there, elbows on the dock, arms folded, chin resting gently on its forearms.

Donghyuck doesn't have time to be surprised at the sudden proximity. He has half a mind to acknowledge the loss of his trump card but even this thought gets pushed somewhere in the back of his mind at the face of _him._

The siren is staring at him with intent, black hair like coal-tar resting in waves on a naked back, thin lips pulled in a mocking smile. Up close Donghyuck is staring at a person with neck too long, eyes too big, teeth too sharp, an unnatural white and shiny colour. The combination of these features should look abominable, instead it crafts out the absolute person, beauty utopian, danger unfathomable.

Donghyuck can't help it. Like running away, like venging his beliefs, like protecting the few dear ones in his life, he can't help reaching a hand and running it over the creatures cheek. The skin isn't smooth, it's hard on the touch and bit coarse, rough like the wrong side of a sponge. It makes Donghyuck feel unreasonably relieved- so he's not perfect after all. 

The distance between them is nonexistent and for a split second Donghyuck feels the overwhelming need to run and save his skin, but he manages to surpass his instincts for survival. He's not suicidal, not at the moment at least, it's more so curiosity laced with years of concealed guilt. How long can he live on for? Does his lucky strike end here?

The siren does not move and Donghyuck is unsure of whether it's a good or a bad sign, he's unsure if he cares in all honesty. Reason and common sense don't seem to exist in the cramped space they're occupying- the one where the moon is huge and round, the one where Donghyuck is a fool on purpose, where he stupidly thinks about surviving, living on to tell stories about this one night, or dying and taking the secret of a most beautiful man's existence to his grave.

Donghyuck flinches when he feels rough, chapped lips land on the palm of his hand. Looking down on the siren is strange, somehow no matter how soft and round the features look from up there, the coldness in his gaze makes Donghyuck feels like he's the one beneath. And maybe he is. Maybe he spoke the last bit out loud because before he knows it water splashes loudly, muscles flex under the weight of its own body and the siren is out of the ocean. He pushes Donghyuck to lie on the cold wet wood of the dock, hovering over him, never once breaking eye contact.

Down there, faced directly with the grand sight of the night sky and the face of a beautiful man, Donghyuck can't help but compare the two. He stares dumbly at the siren's falling locks as they drip excess water on him and around him, a black colour darker than the sky, inky to the point of not being able to reflect the bright light coming from the stars. And for one horrible second Donghyuck wonders what it would feel like to run his hand through it.

Stupid boy. Dumb boy with a death wish. You'll get dragged to the bottom of the ocean and you'll get your face eaten. Why didn't you run away when you could have? Why do you not regret your juvenile decision? The one made in a moment of spitefulness against the world, in a time when your brain melted into sticky mush, mixing with the alcohol at the bottom of your stomach.

Donghyuck feels fingers colder than ice press through the thin fabric of his white shirt, something sharp prodding at the clothed flesh of his chest before it digs itself deep. Donghyuck wants to do a lot of things in this particular moment. For one he wants to scream, wants to wail out loud because it hurts, it hurts to the point where it stops being a physical pain and turns into something more. Donghyuck's been stabbed before, multiple times, he's been shot even, but nothing could have prepared him for the excruciating pain, which comes when someone digs deep into your rib cage and toys with your still beating heart. Donghyuck doesn't scream. He wants to, desperately so, but it would be inappropriate for one too many reasons. Donghyuck also wants to wipe the satisfied smirk spreading wide on the siren's face, the lips curling scarily and stretching to the point where a normal person's face would tear at the seams. He doesn't do that either. Donghyuck simply watches as a pale green arm covered in blood, in _his_ _own_ blood, rises slowly and stops in front of a hungry mouth. The siren licks his own hand, red stains form on his lips and chin. 

This is probably the right time for Donghyuck to gag, maybe even throw up, not that there's anything in his stomach to actually throw up. Instead he watches the siren's face as it scrunches up in disgust.

Donghyuck's blood is poison, not that he knows of that. It is not cyanide or tetrodotoxin or any other venom known to humankind, it's something hand-grown, custom-made for Donghyuck from Donghyuck. Without realizing it he'd become a huge mass of internalized rage and bitterness, which had translated into his blood, changed the way it tastes so that when the deceitful sweetness fades, whoever's consuming it is left with a fire down their throat.

The siren looks displeased, if Donghyuck wanted to be delusional he would call it sympathy, mild worry even. He knows better. 

Everything can be told about a person by their blood- the density of it, the shade of red, the taste, it all comes together to paint a picture titled _“my fucked up life”._ Right now the siren is watching the tape with a recording of Donghyuck’s. It’s a sad little movie, shorter than the average. Too many blank spaces, purposefully erased, covered with thick black ink so that no one can tell what it once was, even the owner himself. As the movie continues, the shots become less blurry, the colours turn from monotone grey to something vibrant and lively, the sceneries obtaining shape and size accurate to the real world ones. And then come the people- the family he found and rescued on his own. A frail but stern looking boy bandaging Donghyuck’s chest, jolly twins left on the side of the road, now a part of his crew, ready to give up their lives for the one who raised and protected them, a pair of star-crossed lovers who always make sure their captain stays out of trouble he can’t handle.

The movie ends on a dock, under the brilliant moonlight, a night in which Donghyuck’s heart is torn from its confines and eaten greedily.

Donghyuck watches as the beautiful face over him twists into anger. Rightfully so. The siren is smart, he knows the man under him is not under his spell, that he’s willingly choosing to play a losing game, that he’s offering his body on silver platter out of guilt. How come it’s so easy for this human to throw away his life when there’s so many he’d be leaving behind?

_Dying for the sake of dying is not heroic. Living in spite of the world which forced you into committing heinous crimes... now that sounds more like the beginning of story._

Donghyuck closes his eyes and does not open them again. The last thing he sees before he’s submerged into cold darkness is white irises turning black. The siren’s perfect smile finally crumbles as he leans his head over the exposed chest and licks the wound closed. The pain will be gone but the teeth marks will never heal, they will remain forever, engraved as a reminder of what Donghyuck was on the verge of doing. 

The siren wills his tail to morph into a pair of legs, skin entirely naked and covered in coarse scales. He spares one last moment gawking at the man underneath him, before he lifts him up gently. There exists no space for soft and tender touches, not in the place and time they are living in at least. Yet Donghyuck is held with care against a damp chest and if he were awake he’d be able to hear something inside stir and beat rapidly.

  
  
  
  


The siren brings him back to the people he saw in the short movie, the man's family. He sees relief colour their faces, shoulders dropping as the nerves are finally flushed out of their tense bodies. 

In this moment Jaemin is so much more than a body carrying a body. He is the one who spared Donghyuck, who brought him back to the people the movie subtitles called _“home”._

And if Jaemin is an abomination of nature, ruled by newly discovered, first time feelings, then so is Donghyuck, the human who was willing to die to prove he’s not afraid of reaching the end.

Jaemin hands over the heavy body to one of the people, the character who he remembers seeing clean Donghyuck’s wounds and bite the shell of his ear when no one else was in the cabin. 

Jaemin kisses Donghyuck’s forehead and returns the memories he stole on accident, before disappearing once again into the night. The crew watches in bewitchment as black hair cascades down a naked back, none of them brave enough to speak up and then the siren is gone. Farewell merciful sea creature. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Meeting Jaemin for the first time is like experiencing sudden death. Donghyuck is the only person absolved from it.

**Author's Note:**

> leave comments and kudos pls i want validation!! also follow me on social media bc i want more nahyuck mutuals  
> twitter- [@jenoarmpit](https://twitter.com/jenoarmpit)  
> instagram- [@mlmkillua](https://www.instagram.com/mlmkillua/)


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